Is 'The Kids Can Play' back in play for the White Sox?

Saturday

Jul 28, 2007 at 12:01 AMJul 28, 2007 at 2:28 PM

Sox Notebook: Guillen and Williams swear trading Iguchi for a minor leaguer isn't a return to that old Sox slogan.

Paul Ladewski

Some may consider the trade of Tadahito Iguchi in return for a minor leaguer to be a sign of another The Kids Can Play movement on the South Side, but manager Ozzie Guillen and general manager Ken Williams agree that would be a mistake.

Team management appears intent to reload rather than rebuild in the offseason.

“People say, ‘You traded a star player and got these guys and the salaries don’t necessarily match up,’ but they forget there’s also a cache that might attributed to that whether it’s savings this year or being to able to move it to next year,” Williams said. “That might be the difference in being able to bid another million dollars to get the relief pitcher that you want. That might get lost six months earlier, but it’s not lost on me.”

Guillen made it clear he wants no part of a predominately young team, because he might not be around long enough to see it develop into a contender.

“I remember Jack McKeon said, ‘Don’t worry about your minor league kids, because you might not manage them,’ ” Guillen said of the former Florida Marlins manager, under whom he was a coach. “And he was right.”

Hurt so good

Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Frank Thomas received a rousing ovation when he stepped to the plate in the second inning, as he returned to Chicago as a member of the 500 home run club for the first time.

“Frank did a lot of great things for this organization,” Guillen said. “For him to be a 500-club member, I tip my hat to him. Because when he left the White Sox, a lot of people thought he couldn’t play any more. He showed people that he could still play, and I’m happy for him. People should be excited.”

One step forward, one step back

After a minor setback in his rehabilitation assignment at Triple-A Charlotte, outfielder Darin Erstad had his return pushed back until next week.

Erstad reported improvement in his sprained left foot, only to have a stiff neck keep him out the lineup for two days.

Bonus baby

No sooner did the son of pitcher Mark Buehrle enter the world Thursday morning than the infant had a potential endorsement deal in his future.

Braden David checked in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces — as in 7-Eleven, sponsors of the start times at U.S. Cellular Field.

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